DAMASCUS, July 9, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - The Syrian defence ministry said an Israeli strike caused damage but no casualties near the Mediterranean coastal city of Baniyas on Tuesday.

"At approximately 12:20 am (2120 GMT)... the Israeli enemy launched an air attack from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea... targeting a site near the city of Baniyas," the defence ministry said.

It was the third such attack in the Baniyas area this year, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The British-based war monitor said "two Israeli missiles targeted at least two buildings, one of which belonged to an air defence battalion".

It said Iranian military advisers were based in the area, a stronghold of President Bashar al-Assad's government.

In May, the defence ministry said an Israeli air strike in Baniyas killed a girl and wounded 10 other civilians.

Since the Syrian civil war erupted in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes, mainly targeting army positions and Iran-backed fighters, including from Lebanon's Hezbollah.

The strikes have intensified since Palestinian militant group Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel sparked war in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli authorities rarely comment on individual strikes, but have said repeatedly they will not allow arch-enemy Iran to expand its presence in Syria.